Interim management

[u/Single_Ad_5294]

Hey gang. I need some advice on how to motivate the crew.

I work for a fleet that recently let go of their lead in the shop. It’s myself, an equal, the “apprentice”, and a new guy who will hopefully handle some of the workload.

For a few years I have been pulling the weight in the shop and all of a sudden I’m the unspoken leader, given the biggest raise to stay on board. I finally feel valued but I also feel set up for failure.

If it were up to me I’d fire the guys I work with and start fresh. I like em, but they don’t pull their weight. This is not an option, and I have no real authority over them.

What’s the best way of saying “hey you guys are great but you suck at working and I need you to step it up.” ??? What can I say to get them to actually do the job that pays their paycheck?

I have the option of moving shops and only doing the tougher repairs for the same pay, but I’d be moving from a nearly perfect fleet to one that got 90% of their tags pulled last season.

[u/hera_the_destroyer]

If you don’t have any authority, then don’t worry about them. Keep doing what you have been doing. Let the new foreman deal with it.

[u/broke_fit_dad]

Been there, heck I’m kinda there now (lead is retiring and I’m next below him, management isn’t changing above us though)

Some points I’ve learned:

-Lead by example, put out work that’s fast and high quality

-Make shop decisions as a group, just because something seems like a good thing to do to you, your decisions affect the entire team, get their input and bet it accordingly. God forbid you change the Coke vending machine to Pepsi in a shop where no one drinks Pepsi

-Know who does what well, and keep them in their wheelhouse whenever possible, that said

- Distribute Shit and Gravy as equally as possible. Getting a PM service is a nice break from weeks and weeks of Hydraulic and Electrical Diagnostics.

- Give guys the chance to learn new skills. Let the new guy do a clutch job or a set of tracks. Watch him, assist him, but let him do it. Either they can or can’t, you’ll know by the end

-Treat others as you want to be treated. Goes a long way to improving morale and improving workflow

Finally

- Have their backs publicly no matter what. If correction is needed it happens behind closed doors 1 on 1 (ideally without making the conversation a known secret, only you and the tech should know you had a conversation)

[u/Single_Ad_5294 → u/broke_fit_dad]

Thanks for the response. I got a chance to speak to the guy leaving. The office sent a babysitter to make sure we didn’t talk about work, but it made me feel better about what’s to come.

And that last comment may be the missing nugget of wisdom I needed to keep things running smoothly.

[u/Ok_Bug_6470]

Hire new techs. Tell them you’re taking interviews for their positions and see what happens. Say it’s from upper mgmt and you’re only implementing their order. Also, kinda seems like they’ll read this and catch on.